How to Draw a Cylinder
A cylinder is a basic shape used to draw many common items including cans, barrels and more. Drawing cylinders is a basic skill that helps prepare you to draw more complicated items, many of which use a cylinder for the base, but require further modification.
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Instructions
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Draw an oval on the paper. This can be any size as long as it leaves plenty of room for you to draw around it. This will be the top of your basic cylinder.
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Add another oval lower down on the paper. The edges of this oval should line up with the higher one exactly. The second oval can be as far down as you want it to be, but generally twice the distance of the oval's width is best.
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Connect the two ovals. Draw a line from the top oval to the bottom oval to connect the furthest right edges.
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Sketch in the other side of your basic cylinder. Add a line from the top oval's left edge to the bottom oval's left edge. This line should be parallel to the one drawn before it.
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Erase the top half of the bottom oval to make your cylinder appear solid and opaque. Make it a dashed line if you want the the cylinder to appear transparent .
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Turn your basic cylinder drawing into an object by drawing on a label to make a can, or adding texture to make a basic trash bin.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have trouble drawing a cylinder, try working with a tin can in front of you for reference.
Don't press too hard with the pencil when drawing cylinders. This makes it almost impossible to erase the lines later.
